Grapefruit Habanero Margarita

This Grapefruit Habanero Margarita is the perfect spicy cocktail for sipping on summer days!

It seems really easy to come up with a good reason to have a cocktail, right?

• It’s 5 o’clock
• It’s sunny outside
• It’s the weekend (cheers to the freakin’ weekend)
• The season premiere of Real Housewives is on
• Etc., etc., etc.

I’m going to give you a few more reason to delight in this particular cocktail – It’s super easy to make, it’s spicy and it’s totally refreshing!

This recipe skips the time consuming step of infusing the tequila with habanero. Instead, all of the heat comes from a delicious simple syrup that comes together easily in 10 minutes. Just add a bit of it to a cocktail shaker along with the tequila (*important ingredient*), grapefruit juice and a splash of triple sec. Rim your glass with some salt (I LOVE using these easy to make citrus salts), pour out your concoction, top it with some extra ice for those hot nights, and you are good to go! No fancy ingredients, no time consuming steps, no excuses NOT to make this delicious cocktail!

I don’t know about you, but I am totally loving these sunny days! We are taking full advantage of the early season warmth in the Pacific NW. Between the Timbers games, beach weekends and graduation parties, it seems like there’s not much down time. We are spending this weekend in Walla Walla, Washington with our great friends J&K. There will be wine tasting, good food (I’ll be making this) and more wine tasting (there are 135+ wineries in the area). Follow me on Instagram to follow along on our journey!

PS – It’s the weekend, and THAT was one of our reasons on the above list to have a cocktail – So I believe you should make one of these delicious Grapefruit Habanero Margaritas today. Cheers!

Grapefruit Habanero Margarita

Course: Cocktail

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 1 cocktail

Author: Erin @ Platings & Pairings

This Grapefruit Habanero Margarita is the perfect spicy cocktail for sipping on summer days!

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Ingredients

Simple Syrup

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 habanero sliced

Margarita

• 2 ounces tequila
• 2 ounces ruby red grapefruit juice
• 1 ounce triple sec
• 1 ounce spicy simple syrup
• Salt for rimming the glasses (I like to use citrus salts)
• Lime wedges for rimming the glasses

Instructions

Simple Syrup

1. In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Heat over high heat, stirring so that the sugar dissolves into the water. The mixture will go from milky white to clear. At this point, add the sliced habanero.
2. Allow the mixture to come to a rapid boil, and then immediately turn the heat down so it just simmers. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, and then remove from the heat. The syrup will reduce and thicken slightly, and will take on a slightly orange tint.
3. Allow the syrup to cool (about 30 minutes). Remove the pepper pieces and any stray floating seeds, and discard them.

Margarita

1. Run a lime wedge along the lip of your glass and dip in salt to cover the rim. Combine the tequila, grapefruit juice, triple sec and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Shake to combine and strain into a salted margarita glass. Add ice cubes and serve.

Grapefruit Habanero Margarita Tips:

• The finished habanero syrup will keep, refrigerated, for about 2 weeks. Try using it in any cocktail that calls for simple syrup, or add it to lemonade. However, be sure to call it a flaming lemonade – It sounds cooler that way.
• You can control the heat of the simple syrup by leaving the habanero to steep for a longer or shorter period of time before straining it. Just give it a taste and adjust to your personal preference.

Looking for more margarita recipes? Be sure to try these too:

Grilled Pineapple Jalapeno Margarita

Hibiscus Margarita